On Wednesday, a White House official confirmed that McMaster had ousted Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council who had been viewed as a Trump loyalist.
“General McMaster appreciates the good work accomplished in the NSC's Intelligence directorate under Ezra Cohen's leadership,” the official said. “He has determined that, at this time, a different set of experiences is best-suited to carrying that work forward. General McMaster is confident that Ezra will make many further significant contributions to national security in another position in the administration.”